Phoenix guard Kevin Johnson was named the NBA's Most Improved Player. He received 48 of 85 votes from the media panel. Reggie Lewis of Boston was second (14) and Chris Mullin of Golden State (12) third. This year Johnson more than doubled his points (9.4 to 20.4) and assists (5.5 to 12.2). ... The U.S Basketball League canceled its 1989 season to restructure its 'business concepts.' The league plans to resume in 1990. Boxing Los Angeles prosecutors say they have insufficient evidence and will not file misdemeanor battery charges against Mike Tyson. The heavyweight champ is accused of slapping a parking lot attendant in the stomach three times last month. ... Kevin Rooney, Tyson's dismissed trainer, pled guilty in New York drunken driving. He was fined $350 and ordered to pay $500 to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which owned the car Rooney slammed into last December. ... Puerto Rico's Carlos de Leon can reclaim the WBC cruiserweight crown Wednesday night when he faces Britain's Sammy Reeson in London for the vacant title. De Leon's last fought in April 1988 when he lost the title to Evander Holyfield. ... Holyfield will fight Brazilian heavyweight Adilson Rodrigues July 15 at Lake Tahoe, Nev. College Marshall University suspended two basketball players, John Taft and Gery Strickland, and sent the NCAA a report listing 10 possible rule violations in the basketball program. ... Richard Jaeger, Dartmouth's director of admissions since 1982, was named athletic director. He replaces Ted Leland, who became AD at University of the Pacific. ... LaKeith Humphrey, who averaged more than 12 points a game last season for Kansas State, left the basketball team for unspecified personal reasons. ... Baseball star John Olerud of Washington State says he wants to play his senior year and will not enter next month's major league draft.
The pitcher-first baseman-designated hitter was Baseball America's 1988 college Player of the Year. Drugs Czechoslovakian athletes caught using drugs the first time will be barred from competition for three months, the official news agency CTK reported. A second offense will bring a two-year ban and a third offense a life ban. Golf Dave Ragan, 53, shot a course-record 10-under-par 62 to take the first-round lead in the North Florida PGA Section Seniors Championship at Crystal River, Fla. Horse Racing Jockey Timothy Stroud, 24, died of injuries after being thrown from horse during a race at Bandera Downs in Texas. He was dead on arrival at Medical Center Hospital in San Antonio about 45 minutes later. ... The bruised foot of Kentucky Derby winner Sunday Silence was described as 'dramatically improved' by the colt's veterinarian, increasing the horse's chances of running Saturday in the Preakness. Olympics The U.S. Olympic Committee named Allen Jacobson, chief executive officer of the 3M Company, its 1989 Executive of the Year. The 3M Company is a major USOC sponsor. Soccer English authorities say they will wait for a referee's report before taking action over the country's latest soccer disturbance. Last weekend Birmingham fans poured over low fences when Crystal Palace took the lead, forcing mounted police to clear the field. Sixteen people were hurt and 25 arrested. Tennis Tracy Austin, once the No. 1 women's player, and her brother John defeated the brother-sister team of Kathy and Dennis Rinaldi 6-3, 6-1 in New York. The exhibition marked the start of the Equitable Family Tennis Challenge, an event involving more than 175,000 players across the country and culminating at the U.S. Open.
